Category Archives: Uncategorized

Peter Green’s 1959 “Lemon Drop” Gibson Les Paul I WAS in the middle of writing about Rick Richards’ Dan Armstong Plexi when I heard Peter Green had died…My first thought – beyond obvious sadness at the passing of such a great musician and a fine and interesting human being – was that I should abandonContinue reading “Adventures of a much-travelled “‘burst”…”

Rick Richards’ 1973 Dan Armstrong Plexiglass Guitar THE music I love often seems to arrive from slightly unexpected directions – a case in point being my love of the world’s greatest bar-band, bar none, The Georgia Satellites, which started one fine spring day in, of all places, a distinctly unrock’n’roll little town on the SuffolkContinue reading “A Clear Favourite…”

Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Number One” 1959/61/62 Fender Stratocaster 1989 was a big year in my guitar obsessive ‘s timeline.  It was the year I found another compelling reason to buy a Stratocaster… and the year I actually bought one.I’m a bit ashamed to say I came so very late to music of the brilliant andContinue reading “Stevie’s Pride and Joy…”

Gypie Mayo’s Fiesta Red 1961/2 Stratocaster SOMETIMES I seem to end up obsessing about a particular instrument. It’s happened a few times – no bad thing, I suppose, as it’s all grist to the mill of this blog. And never more was it so than my obsession with this particular Fiesta Red Fender Strat.It’s noContinue reading “Red for the blues”

Eric Clapton’s “Beano” Album Gibson Les Paul Standard AS claims to legendary status go, the story of Clapton’s “Beano Burst” Les Paul puts it right up there with the best of them. Right up there…The instrument Clapton played on “John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton” (aka “the Beano album”) is credited with setting a benchmarkContinue reading “Touched by the hand of “God”…”

Howlin’ Wolf’s Sunburst Gibson Firebird V CHESTER Arthur Burnett, a.k.a. Howlin’ Wolf, was the biggest, baddest, scariest bluesman ever to stalk a stage. OK, so that’s just what I think – but what are blogs all about if it’s not opinions?Down the years, those of us who love the blues have seen an enormous castContinue reading “Howlin’ Over The Fretboard”

“The Hoss” – Muddy Waters’ red 57 Telecaster MUDDY Waters was an inspired and inspirational performer, a magical entertainer with a sparkle in his eye, a laugh in his voice and that rare, indefinable quality, stage presence. He was also a true musical pioneer.The 1940s and 50s witnessed a huge exodus from the American South,Continue reading “Musings on Muddy…”

Robert Johnson’s Gibson Kalamazoo KG-14 ROBERT Johnson is often called the King of the Delta Blues Musicians. Not everyone agrees (Elijah Wald’s “Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues” is an particularly fascinating and  challenging read on this.) Nevertheless, many regard him as the wellspring from which flowed much of whatContinue reading “In Robert Johnson’s Shoes…”

ALL musical instruments are special. The truth, however, is what is truly special about them is the thing that happens when a human being uses that instrument to express themselves, to share something from within themselves, something that excites a strong emotion – joy, anger, sorrow.To me, there is no instrument quite so special asContinue reading “That Special Bond…”

NOT long after the start of the great 2020  coronavirus lockdown, I decided to keep myself amused by writing the “43 Guitars…and Counting!” blog, initially on Facebook, and later, in expanded, updated form, on WordPress.The idea was to list every single guitar I’d owned since 1978 – but also to tell their stories and explainContinue reading “59 Guitars in…So What Next?”

59. Custom “Squier 52 Hipshot Special”IF you’ve been with me from the start, you’ll know all about my fondness for one of the quirkiest (and in my opinion, the very best) designs to come from the Fender stable this century, the Squier 51. When I first clapped eyes on this marvellously affordable Indonesian Strat-meets-Tele inContinue reading “Shooting from the hip…”

58. Supro twin-pickup “USA prototype” THE Supro/Valco guitars of the late 1950s and early 1960s are truly fascinating – so much so, they are probably worth a blog of their own. For this post, though, I’m focusing on the Supro pictured above, which came in to my possession early in 2022. Quirky would be aContinue reading “A Supro Reborn…“

57. Faking a Firebird AT the start of this extended essay about single-pickup guitars, I mentioned Gibson’s very coolest single-pickup guitar, the “reverse-body” Firebird I. I also lamented the fact Firebird Is are almost unobtainable without a greater outlay than I have made on a single guitar in my entire life. I still wanted one,Continue reading “When Less is More Pt 3”

56. Building my Esquire I’D decided to build myself an Esquire, rather than buying one. The baritone guitar had been my first attempt at finishing a body with a proprietary substance called Tru-Oil. It had been an experiment – a very successful one, which served to whet my appetite for more. This time – againContinue reading “When Less is More Pt 2”

56. Pt 1 – Esquires and the allure of the single-pickup guitar. THE more I looked at pictures of classic Esquires, Les Paul Juniors – and above all, the super-cool Gibson Firebird I – the more I found myself coming round to the idea there was definitely something irresistibly  desirable about the elegant simplicity ofContinue reading “When Less is More…”

55. Tim Aves 28”-scale Telemaster Baritone THERE was a time, not so long ago, when it seemed wherever you looked, you would see baritone guitars. The increased visibility of these instruments – like ordinary six-strings, but with a longer-than-usual scale, more heavily strung and tuned a good bit lower – is down to two things,Continue reading “The lowdown on baritones…”

54. Revelation RJT60-12 Electric 12-string I’VE been on the lookout for an electric 12-string for our studio, Rooks Yard for some time now. Aside from playing the jangly bits in “Stairway to Heaven” and sundry Byrds and Beatles tunes, 12-strings are incredibly useful in the studio for all sorts of semi-hidden jobs, such as thickeningContinue reading “A genuine Revelation…”

53. Fake Chinese Gretsch hollowbody IT didn’t take long for me to answer the question posed at the top of my blog on Guitar No 50: “The last guitar I’ll ever bring home?” The answer, of course, was an emphatic “No”. Fine instrument though it is, it was fairly inevitable my Greco Les Paul wasn’tContinue reading “Another new one…”

52. SX “Fecker Jizz Bass“ THIS blog started with basses, so it seems apt that my current tally of all the guitars I’ve owed over the past 40-odd years should end with a bass, too – albeit one I’ve never actually played in anger. I’ve lost count of the number of recordings sessions I’ve workedContinue reading “Studio Guitars Pt2 – One More Bass”

51. Aria AW35 12-string acoustic HARDLY the most exciting or desirable of guitars, but as this list finally winds towards a conclusion, it’s certainly worthy of inclusion. Both this instrument and the one which follows are mine, thoughI didn’t buy them to play myself (but of course, I have!)This cheap and cheerful Aria 12-string acousticContinue reading “Studio guitars Pt 1”

50. 1976 Greco “Lawsuit” Les Paul IT’S a strange thing, you know. The older I’ve grown, the more I’ve come to enjoy playing Les Pauls. For years and years, I just didn’t get on with them, for a variety of reasons – the weight, the thick sound of those humbuckers, the shorter scale length, theContinue reading “The Last Guitar I’ll Ever Bring Home?”

49. National Resophonic “Black Rust” Duolian 12-fret I FELL in love with this guitar last summer as I sat outside a cafe, just around the corner from Modena Cathedral drinking a rather fine Italian latte (as you do). I was waiting for my girlfriend to return from an adventure in a nearby clothes shop andContinue reading “Seduced by a National…”

48. OTB Custom Guitars Sherwood Green Strat QUITE simply the best guitar I’ve ever played. And it’s mine.It’s a bit of a gamble when you commission a custom guitar from scratch (not that it’s something I’d ever done before). The principle is much the same as when you put one together yourself, though. You canContinue reading “A Very Special Strat…”

47. Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster FUNNY, really. Considering what a Fender nut I am, I’d managed to steer clear of the company’s offset-bodied twins, the Jazzmaster and the short-scale Jaguar for the majority of my love affair with brand “F”. I’d literally never so much as picked one up and strummed a single chord, soContinue reading “An Offset Flirtation…”

45 Fecker “Slimcaster” Tele YOU’VE already read half the story of this guitar, bound up as it is in that of the very first Fender guitar I ever bought – my 1982 butterscotch 52 reissue Telecaster (No 6). When I decided to restore that old Tele to something approaching its original splendour, it presented meContinue reading “Built To Do A Job…”

44. Schecter Ultra “Firewolf” THIS one arrived at my door as a byproduct of my ongoing obsession with Firebirds, but also because Rob had become interested in Thunderbird basses. He did have one, briefly – a Tokai copy anyway. It was OK, but not great. He took it in a part-exchange when he sold hisContinue reading “Almost a Firebird…”

43. R&B “Ian Siegal” guitar A VERY special instrument this – as befits Guitar Number 43 (still a good few to come, by the way!) Inspired by a friend who is one of the most gifted artists I know, built by another incredibly talented chum and facilitated by the amazing generosity of third dear oldContinue reading “43…and onwards!”

42. Italia Mondial IT’S hard to know what to say about this guitar which isn’t instantly said by the pictures. I saw a photo of one in a magazine and fell in love with it there and then!Clever chap, Trevor Wilkinson who designed this and all the other eye-catchingly retro guitars in the Italia range.Continue reading “An Italia Flirtation…”

41. Surf Green Fender Japan Pawn Shop 72 I REFERRED obliquely to this undeniably pretty piece of Fender Japannery in my lengthy screed about Squier 51s (No 17). The familial relationship is plain to see.There was no doubt about it. This was a fancified Squier 51, but with a strong tip of the hat toContinue reading “An Intruiging Hybrid…”